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Super Flex Baby
The Super Flex Baby (スーパー・フレックス・ベビー) is a Japanese 4×4 SLR made from 1938 to 1942 or later. Dates: the advertisements listed in , p. 337, run from 1938 to 1942. The camera is also mentioned in the "Inquiry into Japanese cameras" (国産写真機ノ現状調査) listing all the Japanese cameras as of April 1943. It was sold and advertised by the retailer Kikōdō, but it was manufactured by Umemoto Seisakusho. This has not been found in any original document but this is confirmed by the Umemoto company history that is redacted by Umemoto Akio, grandson of Umemoto Kinzaburō, the founder of the company. The Super Flex Baby was the first Japanese 4×4 SLR and the first Japanese rollfilm SLR. (The first Japanese SLR was the Sakura Reflex Plano by Konishi, later Konica, taking film plates.) Description The Super Flex Baby is inspired from the Karma Flex 4×4 SLR, with a near cubic shape altered by the film spool compartments on both sides. The body is made of die-cast alloy and the casting process itself was subcontracted to the company Tanaka Daikasuto (田中ダイカスト, meaning Tanaka Diecast). Private communication by Umemoto Akio, grandson of Umemoto Kinzaburō, the founder of the Umemoto company. Most of the top plate is occupied by the viewfinder. The viewing hood contains a sports finder that is marked SUPER FLEX BABY inside a coat of arms. The advance knob is at the left end of the body and there are strap lugs on both sides. The back is hinged to the left and contains three red windows, protected by a common cover vertically sliding under a metal plate having 1 3 5 7, 2 4 6 8, 1 3 5 7 markings. This complicated system was required by the 4×4cm format, for which there was no indication on the rollfilm paper backing at the time. The lens is removable and the shutter is placed behind the lens mount. The shutter was manufactured by the Umemoto company itself. Private communication by Umemoto Akio, grandson of Umemoto Kinzaburō, the founder of the Umemoto company. The speeds are set by a wheel attached to the front plate, placed at the top right as seen from the front. This wheel has B, 25, 50, 100 settings on all the models. The shutter release is situated on the right hand side of the body, as seen by the photographer. On all the models except for one early advertisement, the lens is called Super Anastigmat. It was certainly supplied by Nishida. Attribution to Nishida by the , items 125–6. It is focused by turning the front element. Evolution The Super Flex Baby appeared in mid 1938. says that it was featured in the new products column of the August 1938 issue of Asahi Camera. , p. 337 Original model The original model has a black and chrome speed wheel and lens barrel. The engraving on the viewing hood is black filled. The shutter release is a simple pivoting lever and is painted black. An example of this model is pictured in this page of the JCII collection and another in Sugiyama, item 2001. The shutter speeds are B, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100. An advertisement dated June 1938 Published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p. 75. offered the camera for with a U.L.L. Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens by Miyoshi. says that it was the only advertisement to offer this lens option and that the camera was normally sold with a Super Anastigmat 7.0cm f/4.5, as listed in an advertisement dated February 1939 Published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p. 74. where the camera was priced . The Super Anastigmat lenses equipping the camera were certainly made by Nishida. "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa", items 125–6. Super Flex Baby II The Super Flex Baby II appeared in mid 1939. Date: advertisements mentioned in , p. 337. It has an all chrome speed wheel and lens barrel. An example is pictured in Sugiyama, item 2002, and in Lewis, p. 75. It was offered for in an advertisement dated June 1939. Published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p. 75. Super Flex Baby III and IIIA The Super Flex Baby II was replaced by the Super Flex Baby III at the beginning of 1940. Date: advertisements mentioned in , p. 337. This model has a new type of release lever, consisting of a folded metal plate, vertically sliding on the right hand side of the camera. There is a button at the bottom of the release mechanism, that is used as a release lock allowing for time exposures. An example is pictured in Sugiyama, item 2003, and another in Watanabe, p. 8 of Camera Collectors' News no. 40. The time exposure feature is confirmed in the Umemoto history page. An advertisement dated April 1940 Published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p. 75. still offered the model II for along with the new model III costing . It explicitly stated that the difference was the ability to take time exposures. The Super Flex Baby IIIA was introduced at the beginning of 1941 Date: advertisements mentioned in , p. 337. as a more expensive alternative with a Super Anastigmat 65mm f/3.2 lens. It seems that the body has no difference, so that a III can be turned into a IIIA and vice versa by swapping the lens. An example is pictured in Sugiyama, item 2004, and another in the Umemoto history page. An advertisement dated March 1941 offers the model III for and the model IIIA for . Advertisement published in Shashin Bunka, reproduced in , p. 75. The focal length is said to be 65mm for both models but this is surely a mistake. In an advertisement dated March 1942, the prices were respectively and , and the f/4.5 model was called model II probably by mistake. Advertisement published in Hōdō Shashin, reproduced in the Gochamaze website. Another advertisement reproduced in Nostalgic Camera by Toshio Inamura gives the same prices. This March 1942 advertisement is the last one listed in , p. 337 and the camera production was soon interrupted by the war. The "Inquiry into Japanese cameras" (国産写真機ノ現状調査) listing all the Japanese cameras as of April 1943 mentions a "Super Ref" (スーパーレフ) that certainly corresponds to the Super Flex Baby. "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa", items 125–6. Two versions are listed: a "Super Ref II" (スーパーレフⅡ型) with a Super 65/3.2 lens and a "Super Ref" with a Super 65/3.5 lens. The source says that both lenses have three elements and were made by Nishida. It is probably that the 65/3.5 lens option is a mistake for the 70/4.5, and that the names Super Ref and Super Ref II were never officially used by Umemoto or Kikōdō and resulted from a misinterpretation by the inquiry authors. About the name The name "Super Flex Baby" has been used throughout this article. The original documentation is not consistent and the camera is called "Super Flex Baby" or "Baby Super Flex" or simply "Super Flex", depending on the advertisement. (There is even one advertisement where the case is mentioned as "for the Baby Super Ref" "Ref" is an abbreviation often used for "Reflex" in Japan at the time. (ベビースーパーレフ用) while the camera is called "Super Flex Baby" in the header.) The camera itself is always marked "Super Flex Baby". The brand name "Super" was certainly owned by the distributor Kikōdō that also sold Super plate folders and the Super Makinet Six. Notes Bibliography * Items 126–8. * Christies auction catalogue: "Fine and Rare Cameras", 5 November 1992, lot 334. * * P. 55. * Items 2001–4. * Watanabe Katsumi (渡辺勝美). "Baby Super Flex" (ベビースーパーフレックス). In Camera Collectors' News no. 40 (October 1980). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp. 8–9. Links In Japanese: * Super Flex Baby (original model) in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology * Company history (with pictures of a Super Flex Baby IIIA) at the Umemoto official website * Advertisement published in the March 1942 issue of Hōdō Shashin, reproduced in the Japanese camera page of the Gochamaze website * Advertisement for the Super Flex Baby dated between 1942 and 1945, reproduced in Nostalgic Camera, a page of old Japanese advertisements by Toshio Inamura Category: Japanese 4x4 SLR Category: S